DURHAM, N.C. – The Duke baseball program continues to strengthen its pitching staff as head coach Chris Pollard is thrilled to welcome left-hander Oliver McCarthy. Currently a senior at Poly Prep in Brooklyn, N.Y., McCarthy has signed a National Letter of Intent to join the Blue Devils for the 2019 season.

“Oliver had a tremendous junior season and led his team to a state championship,” Pollard said. “He’s a left-handed pitcher who’s been up to 90 mph with a ton of heavy sink on his fastball. He throws a lot of strikes and produces a lot of ground ball contact.”

A projectable lefty, McCarthy is rated the No. 258 overall prospect and No. 32 left-handed pitcher in the country by Perfect Game. The organization also lists McCarthy as the No. 5 overall prospect and No. 2 LHP in the state of New York.

McCarthy is fresh off a dominant junior season for Poly Prep this past spring. He boasted a 1.05 ERA to help the Blue Devils capture their sixth NYSAIS Tournament championships in the past seven years. As a sophomore, McCarthy went 8-1 on the mound and amassed 61 strikeouts in 55 innings. He was named to the 2017 Perfect Game Underclass Second Team and was tabbed 2016 Underclass High Honorable Mention.

A member of the National Honor Society, McCarthy is also a standout on the hardwood, earning first team All-New York honors as a forward on the Poly Prep basketball team.

GoDuke.com will feature each member of Duke’s 2018 recruiting class every Tuesday over the coming weeks.